The present invention relates generally to doors and mechanisms for swinging and sliding doors relative to a door opening.
Most doors are mounted in door openings by two or more hinges along one side edge for swinging (pivotal) movement about a vertical axis between closed and open positions relative to an access opening in the door frame. For doors associated with buildings, the swing arc is only limited by the wall surface surrounding the door frame such that the door can be opened so as to expose the entire access opening. However, sometimes it is desirable to mount a door on tracks for sliding movement generally parallel to a plane of the door access opening. For example, many vehicles such as panel trucks and vans have at least one side door mounted for sliding movement along an outer side surface of the vehicle. Such a door is typically slidably connected to an upper track located at an upper edge of the door frame access opening near the vehicle roof, a lower track located at a lower edge of the door frame access opening near the sill area, and a center track located in the vehicle side wall near a rear edge of the door frame access opening.